A speeding driver involved in a tragic crash which left a passer-by dead in Birkenhead has been jailed for four years.

A judge told Kieran Platt that he accepted his remorse was genuine but he had been driving “at grossly excessive speed.”

Liverpool Crown Court heard Platt was driving through Birkenhead town centre at more than twice the speed limit when he clipped a car and spun into passing pedestrian Aso Azzizi.

The driver of the other car, Paul Long, had minutes earlier had stopped to help Mr Azzizi as he lay drunk on the floor, and was making a U-turn when Platt struck his car.

Platt, of Bramblewood Close, Prenton, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and Long, of Merlin Road, Birkenhead, admitted causing death by careless driving.

Long was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for three months.

The two men faced trial last June both accused of causing death by dangerous driving but after it collapsed a re-trial was fixed.

However Platt changed his plea to guilty and Long admitted the lesser charge.

57-year-old Long was driving down Conway Street just before 2am on January 31, 2015, when he saw Mr Azzizi lying on the pavement near the Crown Pub.

He stopped on the opposite side of the road, left his Ford Mondeo and - along with another passing driver - went to check on him.

After it was established Mr Azzizi did not need medical assistance, Long returned to his car.

He then began to perform a U-turn but failed to indicate or spot Platt’s Renault Megane approaching behind him.

As Long pulled out, Platt’s speeding car - which was travelling at 66mph in a 30mph zone - clipped the vehicle and was sent spinning across the carriageway.

It struck Mr Azzizi, throwing him into nearby railings and leaving him with horrific injuries from which he failed to recover.

Long and Platt, 22, both left their cars and began blaming each other, before realising Mr Azzizi had been hit.

The jury had been shown CCTV of the “catastrophic collision” and heard evidence Platt had been driving at 66mph and Long had failed to indicate.

Defence barrister Desmond Lennon, said Platt regretted his actions and that “it is with a great sense of shock and sadness that he now has to carry the heavy burden of contributing to the death of Mr Azzizi”.

As well as leaving flowers at the scene of the crash, the court heard Platt rang the police and visited the hospital to find out how Mr Azzizi’s treatment was going. He also raised £500 to contribute to the cost of repatriating Mr Azzizi to Iraq.

Judge Robert Warnock told Platt: "For reasons which have never been explained you chose to drive at grossly excessive speed. Because of that grossly excessive speed you failed to avoid the car [of Long].”

He banned Platt from driving for four-and-ahalf years.

John Weate, defending Long, a forklift truck driver, said he stopped because he had “real concern for Mr Azzizi’s safety.”

He had been distracted by continued concern for Mr Azzizi when he returned to his car and “found it very difficult to cope with the outcome of what had happened.”

Judge Warnock said: “It is clear that nearly two years ago you were driving up Conway Street when you saw the deceased in trouble.

"You stopped, you went to see if he was all right. You had that spark of common decency.”

He pointed out Long’s failure to indicate but said he should shoulder no more than 10% of the blame.

He said that the “collision was caused by the excessive speed, recklessness and selfishness of your co-defendant.”